Andy Rivera-Mancia v. Loretta Lynch

MEMORANDUM

Andy Salvador Rivera-Mancia, a native and citizen of El Salvador, petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) order dismissing his appeal from an immigration judge’s (“IJ”) denial of his application for a waiver of inadmissibility under former INA § 212(c). Our jurisdiction is governed by 8 U.S.C. § 1252 . We review de novo questions of law. Vargas-Hernandez v. Gonzales, 497 F.3d 919, 921 (9th Cir. 2007). We dismiss in part and deny in part the petition for review.

We lack jurisdiction to review the agency’s discretionary decision to deny a waiver under former INA § 212(c). See id. at 923 (citing 8 U.S.C. § 1252 (a)(2)(B)(ii)). Although this court retains jurisdiction to review colorable questions of law or constitutional claims, see 8 U.S.C. § 1252 (a)(2)(D), Rivera-Mancia’s challenges to the agency’s weighing and evaluation of his equities in exercising its discretion are not colorable challenges that invoke our jurisdiction. See Mendez-Castro v. Mukasey, 552 F.3d 975, 979-80 (9th Cir. 2009) (the court lacks jurisdiction to review “an abuse of discretion argument [cloaked] in the garb of a question of law”). Although Rivera-Mancia contends that…